The Haunted Mask 2 (Goosebumps)

Oct 5

JUST CALL HIM PRUNE FACE!

Steve Boswell will never forget Carly Beth's Halloween mask. It was so gross. So terrifying. But this year Steve wants to have the scariest costume on the block. So he gets a mask from the same store where Carly Beth got hers. It looks like a creepy old man. With stringy hair. A wrinkled face. And spiders crawling out of the ears! Steve's definitely got the scariest mask around. Too bad he's starting to feel so old. And so tired. And so evil...

GOT U COVERED 📘

Author: R.L Stine

Published: 1995

Series: Goosebumps

Tagline: New face. Old Nightmare.

Description: Steve Boswell in an old man mask on the steps of a house.

THOUGHTS 💭

How do you write a follow-up to one of the best Goosebumps books of all time…well, you set it within the same universe and redirect the story onto an already existing character. That’s how. Duhhhhhh! In this story, we have prankster Steve Boswell as our new protagonist, but does he fare well against the Haunted Mask or will he meet the same fate?

“I wanted the scariest, grossest mask in the box. I wanted a mask that would give those first graders more nightmares than they had given me! - pg. 25”

Steve is still up to his old tricks. Even though he was scared shitless last year by Carly Beth Caldwell’s horrific mask, it seems it didn’t psychologically damage him enough, because he and his friend Chuck still try to scare CBC. This time, it doesn’t work. CB is different. She’s changed. Something about the incident with The Haunted Mask took her fear away and no prank done to her scares her anymore. I loved reading Carly and Sabrina’s participation in this story, even as supporting characters. It helped to build and expand the Haunted Mask Universe, adding more lore and enjoyable spooks for the reader.

Steve wants some revenge of his own. He is coaching the first-grade soccer team and they are such a riot. They are always rough and wild with Steve, especially when they play pranks on him. In one chapter, they made him kick a concrete football. Ouch! I swear I could feel my toes swell and thump in pain. That being said, I still didn’t feel bad for Steve. He’s an idiot and I liked that he was getting a dose of his medicine tenfold.

I am a teacher to 4-5-year-olds, so this behavior sounds about right: the yanking of the clothes, occasional teasing…and the bloody noses are very much real. Small kids can be cute but easily shift from angel to gremlin in a heartbeat.

What’s up with the Carpenter mansion by the way? What’s the story there? I was curious to know if there was some spooky incident that was going to happen there in later chapters of the book, however, it didn’t have any more significance. I think it would’ve been cool to feature it in another way. Haunted, spooky homes are Halloween staples so it could’ve added a little extra flavor to the story because, in all honesty, there aren’t as many memorable set pieces or moments in this book compared to the first one.

One memorable thing I laughed at was a line in the book, “Sometimes it helps to scold yourself, to give yourself advice.” That's the most relatable thing Steve has said in the entire book. I often have to scold myself to shake off whatever negative or silly thought I have to snap out of it. If only Steve could have scolded himself not to go into the shop, let alone its basement, looking for a mask…knowing all too well what happened to CB the year before.

Side note: what a ditcher Chuck was. He dipped faster than a chip.

“The ugly, disgusting mask had become my face! I looked like a horrifying, spider-infested, decaying old man. And I felt as old and weird as I looked! My throat tightened in terror. I sank against the mirror, pressing my ugly, craggy forehead against the glass. I shut my eyes. What can I do? What can I do?” - pg. 45

The mask was described well: with the hole in the head, and the spiders crawling all over. It was a nasty addition to the Unloved masks. Tim Jacobus’ illustration also helped bring the image to life in my head. What an anti-climactic scare that was with the team though. It was quite funny to read how wrong it was going. The mask was turning Steve into an old man. “On a table across the room, a carved jack-o’-lantern grinned at me. The pumpkin had more teeth than I did!” - this line made me laugh too.

Carly Beth knows not to talk to creepy old men. Good on her. Also, Sabrina is so bitchy and unbothered - gay ICON

Eventually, a symbol of love didn’t save the day, but I liked that it wasn’t as easy as before. There were some challenges to overcome before the mask came off, which kept the book exciting and me interested in finishing the book. Of course, in Goosebumps fashion, it ended on a cliffhanger - which I also thought was a cool way to continue the horror of the masks.

I liked the book, it’s well-written and crafted well. This story has more comedy, which made me laugh at certain points. I like how it incorporated elements from the first book into this one. However, I think that, in comparison to the first, it’s inferior. It lacks the emotional, heartfelt moments that CB had expressed and the motivation to scare the kids wasn’t strong enough. But I did like that the old man costume added a different version of “horror” and that the rules for getting it off weren’t a retread of the same book, even though it was referenced.

Watch the TV Episode 📺 📼 and Listen to the Audiobook 🎧📘 below